‘HBC 342’ is a product of a controlled breeding program carried out by the inventors in the Yakima Valley of Washington state. ‘HBC 342’ was one of several seedlings resulting from a cross made in 2001 of female parent ‘YCR 45’ (not patented) and male parent ‘97M2’ (not patented). A single plant of ‘HBC 342’ was selected in 2004, and was expanded to 70 plants, which were then planted in the area of Toppenish, Wash. The plants were observed and evaluated for several years, and in 2009 were expanded for further observation and evaluation in the Toppenish, Washington area. A 40 acre test plot of ‘HBC 342’ was established in 2009. Throughout several generations of asexual propagation by softwood cuttings at a greenhouse facility in Yakima, Wash., ‘HBC 342’ has been observed to retain its distinctive characteristics and remain true to type.